A yellow rubber duck.Image via WikipediaPerhaps one of the reasons you bought your property is that it had a pond.  Investing in property with water is always a wise investment, as water is more precious than oil or gold in survival.  Backyard ponds can be fun for the whole family, if you take the time to maintain your pond.

First Off

The water in backyard ponds can’t be kept still.  This will kill off any valuable nutrients in the water and encourage the growth of algae slime and biting insects.  By keeping the water moving, even for half the day, you can keep the water from becoming a nursery for insects and green slime.  Stagnant water also tends to have an offensive stench to it which moving water does not.

Naturally, the water in backyard ponds are kept moving because they are connected to an underground or above ground creek, stream or river.  But because of overdevelopment and human overpopulation, the odds are that many backyard ponds have been cut off from their lifeline.  You need to revive your pond again by installing a filter and pump to keep the water moving.  There are even solar powered pond filters available!

You also need to be sure that the water in your backyard ponds are not getting too much sunlight or nutrients which can unbalance the chemistry of the water and make it nasty.  If there are many trees or plants dropping leaves into the water, consider trimming back the plants.  If too much sun is the problem, you can get a tarp to cover the pond from the worst of the sun and take it off at night.

Let The Games Begin

Now that the water is healthy, here are some game games you can play with backyard ponds:

The Duck Pond Game:  Get a whole bunch of rubber ducks or floating bathtub toys and mark the bottom so you can tell them apart.  Everyone chooses a duck/toy.  Gather them up at one end of the pond and let them go!  The first duck to get to the other side wins.

Duck Bingo:  This is with real ducks.  You can’t touch the ducks.  You section the land around the pond of into a bingo grid.  If the real duck poops in your pre-picked square, you’ve won.

As The Pond Water Turns:  You go sit and watch the activity around backyard ponds.  You pretend it’s a soap opera and make up impossible situations suggested by any plant, ripple or wildlife activity on the pond.  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

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